Curtain stretcher corner structure



A511212, 1950 w.H. BOTHE 2,519,628

` CURTAIN STRETCHER CORNER STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 14, 1949 INVENTOR. 0M7"/1 Patented Aug. 22, 1950 Wernerk Bother Kenosha@ Wist, assignhf toWerldsbest industries. @miglia an @regroupent- Wisconsin j L 1' Theinvention relates/tc curtain stretchers and more particularly-1tp-"cornerV fittings by which the; upset. bentornatbee a, stretcher; is

clamped to the side members the, stretcher;

frame. .I v

One of th'ema'ihfunctionsfo'f af'rc'urtai'n stretcher is totstretch thecurtainitoias near its originali` forintasipossibleVand-lmost curtainswhiler vanying sizeuaie of..rectangularwform so t tf-.ii is imperative.that, thestretchenf traine have:k 'ac-- curat'e 1corners and. be`constructed-Fin man1- n'eie asly t'ov not: only.A permit. accurateadjustment of width and length to accommodate the Wide range of sizes,but also to assure parallelism of side and end edges. In order that thisresult may be obtained, the corner plate embodying the present inventionhas been developed. According to this invention, instead of the usualnat metal corner plate, the corner plate is provided with flanges, itsouter edges bent at ninety degrees tothe body of the plate and at ninetydegrecs to each other to provide a means for retaining the upperhorizontal bar of the stretcher and the abutting upper end of a side orend bar of the stretcher in accurate right angular relationship witheach other, thus assuring a rectangular or square corner. Also in orderto permit ready removability and assembly of these parts relative toeach other, the tting which is anchored to the top bar has a slot in itsvertical leg which is slipped over a bolt on the vertically disposed endframe member and then clamped to this member -by a nut on the bolt; theslot being so spaced from the flanged side of said vertical leg that itprecludes any appreciable side movement of said end frame member whichwould Vhave the tendency of changing the right angular Fig. 3 is anenlarged front elevational view of a corner plate embodying theinvention;

Fig` 4 is a perspective view of the corner plate. Referring to thedrawings, the upper portion of a curtain stretcher has been shownincluding the top bar 5, side or end bars 6, vertical center bar 1, anda vertical adjusting 'bar 8. The bottom bar which is clamped to end bars6 and to the telelineA 01- zee-634i V bars 'I and 8 has not been shownvbut.:is;show1l1 ishown. Thefbottoinrbar, top sbar; 5; .leftshandfendbar 6, and the-adiustirrgfbar' araprovidedwith g onv which; portions?off. the;I damp curtains rf'iabnics-arefimpaledf to-.ist'retch-` the;interiorv litin'thismondition: until dr-ied:

The: presenti. invention is directed totA the core` nenlstcuoture by.-lwhichthe: endsl of: the top 5r ane. 'secured in; accurate; right;anglech relaf: tionship with the abutting top end 9 of the end bars 6.For this purpose a corner plate ID, shown in detail in Figs. 2 to 4, issecured to the ends of the top bar 5 and is removably clamped to theupper end of the abutting end bar.

The corner plate l0 is formed of a sheet metal stamping having a flatbody portion formed to provide a top leg I I and a vertical or side legI2, holes I3 beingV punched in the top leg to receive rivets I4 by whichsaid plate is iixed to the back of the top bar 5. The top leg Il has atop edge flange I5 bent at right angles to the body and at right anglesto a side edge ange I6 also bent at right angles to the body, so thatwhen the top bar 5 has its top and end arranged in abutting relationwith the flanges I5 and I6 and secured by the rivets I4, the flange I6will present a true right angled metal extension of the top bar, so thatwhen the top of the end bar 6 abuts the lower horizontal edge of the topbar 5 and the outer side of said bar 6 abuts that portion of the flangeI6 depending from the top bar, the bars 5 and 6 will be positioned inaccurate right angular relationship, and in order to maintain thisrelationship and yet permit ready assembly and disassembly of theseparts of the stretcher frame, the side leg has a slot Il formed in thelower end thereof which extends parallel to the ange I6 and spacedtherefrom the same distance as the hole I8 in the bar 6 for a clampingbolt I9 is spaced from said flange I6, so that when the top bar ispositioned in abutting angular relationship with said end bar and theslotted portion of said leg I2 is slipped over said bolt, the parts maybe secured together by a wing nut 20 which clamps the plate I0 betweenit and the back side of the upper end portion of the end bar 5, the slotI'l permitting this assembly without the necessity of removing the nut2U.

Thus when the top bar 5 is clamped at its opposite ends to the upperends of the end bars 5, these end bars will be held in accurate rightangular relationship with the top bar.

The above construction has the following advantages: the rectangularange l5 assures positive alinement to and with the top bar to which itis attached. The plate is formed in accurate dies so that the anges |`5and I6 are at all times at right angles to each other. The corner platesIB are securely fastened to the top bar 5 by the rivets I4. Theremovable end mem'- bers 6 are attached to the securely fastened endplates by the bolts I9 and wing nuts 20 and are supported by the otherleg l2 of said plates in abutting relation with its ange, thuspreventing shifting of the corner parts which would result in an angleof more than ninety degrees. The location of the slot l1, engaging thebolt and wing nut assembly of the removable end bar is such as toVpermit abutment of the end of the` bar 6 with the top bar 5 at the sametime preventing shifting to an angle of less than ninety degrees and theslot obviates the disassembly of the nut from the bolt.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited toany particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as suchlimitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a curtain stretcher having a top frame bar and side end frame barsextending at angles to each other, said end bars abutting the lowersides of said top bar at the ends thereof, a iitting for securing eachof said end bars to the top bar in right angular abutting clampedrelation, comprising a plate having a top leg portion anchored to theback of said top bar and a side leg portion projecting beyond the lower.portion of said topbar, each of said leg portions having flangesextending at right angles to the plate and at right angles to eachother, the flange on said top leg portion abutting the upper side ofsaid top bar and the flange on the other leg portion abutting the end ofsaid top bar and the adjacent side of said end bar, and a bolt extendingthrough the upper end portion of said end bar and provided With a nutfor clamping the depending portion of said side leg portion to said endbar.

2. The structure as dened in claim 1 wherein the lower end of the sideleg portion is provided with aY slot to receive said bolt and spaced thesame distance from the side flange of said plate as said bolt is spacedfrom said iiange.

WERNER I-I. BOTI-IE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 561,693 Backof June 9, 1896662,235 Hornbeck Nov. 20, 1900 1,141,210v Pirson June 1, 1915 1,614,722Ernst Jan. 18, 1927 2,153,454 Butler Apr. 14, 1939

